Some of the biggest names in Hollywood, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, sinners director Ryan Coogler and Deadpool and Wolverine Filmmaker Shawn Levy has a simple strategy for dealing with the relentless noise of Internet fandom: go offline.
The group came together this week to offer a rare and candid look at what it really takes to make blockbuster movies and how to not lose your mind in the process.
The occasion was a celebration at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where the Kevin Feige Film and Television Production Division was officially dedicated in the producer’s honor.
All three men are USC graduates, and the focus of the evening was a frank conversation between them that touched on Internet culture, testing disasters, and the confusing and unglamorous reality of making big movies.
Feige, widely considered the most successful film producer of all time, was characteristically blunt on the topic of online fandom.
Marvel has always had a close relationship with its audience, dating back to the letter pages of its comics, but the Internet has considerably changed the nature of that relationship.
“Now it can be used with such force that you have to be careful,” he said. He cautioned that the sheer volume of theories, opinions and hot takes on YouTube, TikTok and Reddit is something filmmakers engage with at their own risk.
“You can read everything about everything and get a different point of view on it. You can drive yourself crazy. So we don’t do that.”
Levy echoed the sentiment and framed it as a matter of professional survival.
While working on large-scale franchise projects, he is currently in post-production on the following star wars movie, the ability to turn off becomes essential.
“You have to know when to quit, be quiet, and go back to what was in your head and in your voice when you started,” he said.
The conversation also turned to something filmmakers rarely discuss publicly: the impact of a bad test screening.
Feige described the experience with surprising honesty, noting that for Marvel, audience gains occur after a significant investment has already been made.
“It happens when you’ve already spent almost $200 million on a movie and you screen it for people and they say, ‘What was that?'” Levy didn’t shy away from what comes next.
“And then panic sets in. You panic, you feel like shit, and then you go back to work.”
What made the conversation particularly compelling was Feige’s admission that he spent years thinking Marvel was exceptionally bad at getting movies right the first time.
He has since learned otherwise.
He turned to Coogler in the middle of his thoughts and asked if sinners, the most nominated film in Oscar history this year, was perfect from its first cut.
Coogler laughed. “No,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s perfect even now, brother.”
It was a heartbreakingly human moment from three filmmakers at the top of their industry, a reminder that even the world’s biggest movies are works in progress until the credits roll.
